Arch-supporting shoe and method of making same.



y I. F. TEEHAN.

ARCH SUPPORTING SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

y APPLICATION FILED AUG.2, 1916.

1,218,91 1. Patented Mar.13,1917.

ATTy E J. F. TEEHAN. ARCH SUPPORTING SHOE ANO METHOD 0E MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED AUG2| I9I6.

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/NVEA/T F. TEEHAN. SHOE AND METHOD OF MAK'NG SAME. APPLICTION'FILED AUG.2| l9|6 Patented Mar. 13, 1911.

JF.' Tee ARCH SUPPORTING JOHN' F. TEEHAN, 0F BBOCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ARCH-SUPPORTING SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

Application led August 2, 1918. Serial No. 112,758.

To all whmnz'tmay' concer/n.'

Be it known that I, JOHN F. TEiiHAN, a

'citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the countyl of Plymouth and State ofv Massachusetts, have invented new and useful'Improvements in Arch-Supporting Shoes and Methods of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to arch-supporting shoes, and to the method of making the same, and more especially it includes certain improvements on the shoe illustrated and described in Letters Patent No. 1,137,807, granted to me on the 4th day of May, 1915.

The object of the invention is to provide a shoe in which there is a fiexible support for the metatarsal arch, so as thereby to prevent and relieve flat foot or broken arches; and the further object is to vprovide a method by which such shoes may be cheaply and expeditiously manufactured. In the improved shoe which I have illustrated in the drawings, the support consists of what may be termed a strap or band preferably formed of flexible leather or of textile material crossing above the insole between the ball and heel of the foot, and secured at one end at the junction of the upper and bottom of the shoe at the outer edge thereof, and at the other end to the top of the shoe, at a point sufficiently high above the arch to enable'the body portion of the strap to support the foot at a slight elevation from the inner sole. The juncture of what may be called the inner end of the strap with the top may be located in a high shoe at ,the seam which connects the vamp and the top.

On the accompanying drawings,-

Figure 1 shows a shoe embodying vention and made according to my process or method, a portion of the upper being broken away. 0

Fig. 2 represents a partial longitudinal vertical section through the said shoe.

Fig. 3 represents a vertical transverse section through the same.

Fig. 4 represents, on a larger scale, a section through the parts at the junction of one end of the strap with the bottom ofthe shoe.

Fig. 5 shows the upper, before being lasted, with the strap secured thereto.

Fig. `6 represents a section therethrough on the broken line shown in Fig. 5.

the in.-

Fig. 7 represents a section on a larger scale through the seam.

Fig. 8 represents a longitudinal vertical section through the upper.

illustrates the strap prior to its insertion in and in connection with the upper.

Fig. 10 shows how the inner end of the strap lining.

Fig. 11 illustrates a partially lasted shoe and illustrates the removable pad which is utilized in the method of making the shoe.

Fig. 12 represents a longitudinal section through the same.

Fig. `13 represents a cross section of the same.

Fig. 14 illustrates in reverse plan a last which may be used for the manufacture of the shoe.

Figs. 15 and 16 (the latter being an edge view) illustrate the pad to which reference already has been made.

Preferably, in the manufacture of a shoe embodying my invention, I employ a last 20, as shown in Fig. 14, which is well hollowed is passed through a slit in the upper,

out at the shank as at 21, so as to represent the natural arch of a normal foot. In forming the shoe, the transverse strap is caused closely to hug and conform to the shank of the last so that it will support the arch of the foot in a normal position and be slightly raised from the inner sole at the inner edge thereof.

In constructing the shoe, I employ a strap 30, such for example as that illustrated in Fig. '9. This consistsof a layer 22 of thin flexible leather, the edges of which may be skived, and a layer 23 of canvas or light duck, the edges of which are stitched tothe leatherby rows of zigzag stitches 24. What may be termed Ithe inner end 25' of the strap is concave or curved inwardly. The other end 26 may be straight as shown. The side edges of the strap are curved, and may converge somewhat toward the outer edgev or end 26, the inner end being the widest end to afford the greatest supporting surface where it is needed.

The upper of the shoe is formed as ordinarily, with the following exceptions z-A slit 29 is cut in the lining 28 at a predeterend of the strap is attached to the lower part of the top by a row of stitches 3l, the curved edge 25 being bent or sprung to a straight line while being stitched so that the body 5 thereof curves transversely when the shoe is completed. The stitches pass through the top at a place just below the line where the edge of the vamp is subsequently stitched to the top, in order that they may be concealed when the shoey is vamped. `The strapv end, being stitched on the inner side of the top, lies'between the top and the lining after the shoe is lined. The lining is then attached to the top in the usual way, after which the strapris passed through the slit 29, and then bent upward out of the way, while a row of stitches is passed through the lining at the lower edge of the slit and the bottom edge of the top to prevent the 2o lining from pulling down at this point when the shoe is lasted. The shoe is then vamped, the vamp stitching passing through the vamp, top, strap and lining, and closing the upper edge of the slit in the lining.

In lasting the shoe, the inner sole 34: is placed on the bottom of the shoe as usual and secured in place, and the upper is pulled over and secured at the ends of 3o the shoe as ordinarily. rlhe free end of the strap is then passed between the inner sole and the bottom of the last and is drawn taut so as closely to conform' to the shank of the last, and its outer end marginal por- 35 tion is folded back across the insole as shown in F ig. 1l, and secured in' place by tacks 35 or other suitable fastenings, for the purpose of temporarily holding the strap in position against the hollow shank 4G of the last. A pad or filler piece 36, formed of felt, leather "or other suitable material, With its edges skived, is inserted between the strap and the inner sole to insure the formation of a space between them. The

upper is then lasted, being drawn taut and being stitched by any suitable welt sewing machine to the rib 37 of the inner sole, as ordinarily, to form what is'termed the inseam, and by this same operation the weltis secured in place as usual. In Fig.. 4, it .Y will'be seen that the welt 38 is stitched to the rib 37 by stitches 39 which pass through the edge of the upper and through the outer end of the strap 30. Thereafter the shoe is subjected to the remainder of the bottoming operations and is iinished in the ordinary manner, being provided with the usual outsole 40. Then, through the interior of the shoe after the last has been withdrawn, the pad 36 is removed from between the strap and the inner sole, leaving the band or strap in the normal position shown in Fig. 3.

After the completion of thevshoe, it will be seen that it is thus provided with a. strap or band as an integral or component part thereof the outer end of which is secured in i 7 place by the stitches which unite the welt, the insole and the upper, and the inner end of which is rigidly attached to the upper along the line of the upper edge of the vamp. They ends of the strap are concealed so that its presence in the shoe cannot be detected from the appearance of the exterior thereof. By forming the inner end of the strap with a concave curve and then spring- 75 ing said end so that when secured it is in a straight line, the strap itself becomes concave in cross section and thus conforms to the curvature of the arch of the foot and to the hollowed portion of the shank of the last. The `split edges of the lining are stitched down to present a good appearance, the inner 'end of the strap or baud being inserted in the slit, so as to be covered by the upper edge of the lining formed by 85 the slit, and leaves no perceptible bunch to afford discomfort to the wearer, or to retard the insertion of the foot into the shoe.

Preferably l employ as an outsole one which is iiexible at the shank portion. .This fieXibility of the sole may be secured by any of the usual methods such as chamfering the sole at the shank portion or else by a series of parallel cuts in the top portion of the outsole at the shank thereof.v

The shoe, which I have herein described, is illustrated as what is known as a Balmoral having a whole vamp. In the case of a circular vamp Bah or button shoe,

Vor in the case of whole quarter blueher, or

any shoe in which the vamp does not extend to the heel, the inner. end of the strap may be stitched to the lining just above the slit therein, or to the quarter at a place which would be identical with'the lower edge of a Bal top such as herein described. When the shoe is placed upon the foot and the opening therein closed by lacing or buttoning the shoe, the inner end of the strap is prevented from sagging and is caused to pass' above, across and substantially out of contact with the inner sole -eXcept near the outer side edge thereof.

I claim l. The herein described method of making an arch-supporting shoe, which comprisesy permanently securing the inner end of an arch-supporting strap to the upper, passing the strap between the last and the insole, and securing together the free edge of the upper, the free end of the strap and the bot- ,tom of the shoe, at the outer side of the shoe.

9.. The herein described method of making an arch-supporting shoe, which comprises permanently securing the inner end of an arch-supporting strap to the upper, locating the body of the strap between the insole and the hollowed shank of a last, and bottorning 13o the shoe, including attaching the free end of the strap by a seam which unites the outsole and the upper.

vbetween the inner sole and said strap, securing the outer end of the strap onv the outer face ofthe insole, and finally removing said filler piece. 1

4. The herein'described method of making an arch-supporting shoe, comprising slitting the upper lining, passing an arch-supporting strap through said slit, and securing the said inserted strap end to the upper.

5. The herein described method of making an arch-supporting shoe, comprising slitting the upper lining at the inner side on a line substantially parallel with the bottom edge thereof, stitching the inner end of an archsupporting strap to the upper and passing said strap through said slit.

G. The herein described method of making an arch-supporting shoe, comprising slitting the upper lining at the inner side on a line substantially parallel with the bottom edge thereof, springing an arch-,supporting strap to curve the same transversely and stitching the strap to the upper while thus sprung,

` and passing said strap through said slit.

7. The herein described method of making an arch-'supporting shoe, comprising permaf nently stitching the inner end of an archsupporting strap to the inner side of the upper on a line substantially parallel to the lower edge of said upper but at a point remote therefrom, and,'in completing the shoe, permanently securing the outer end'of the strap at the juncture of the welt, the inner sole and the outer side of the upper, with the body of the strap crossingv above the inner sole and raised therefrom at the inner side portion thereof. j

8. The herein described method of making an arch-supportingshoe, comprising permanently stitching the inner end of an archsupporting strap to the inner side of the upper'ona line substantially parallel to the lower edgeof said upper but at a point remote therefrom, passing the strap between the last and the inner sole, and inserting a filler piece between the strap and the inner sole at the inside of the shank, and securing the outer end of the shank to the outer side edge of the upper by the welt seam.

9. A shoe having as a component part thereof a flexible strap located therein and extending transversely across and above the shank of the inner sole, and rows of stitches permanently securing the ends of said strap to the upper above the inner side of the shank of the inner sole and at the juncture of the outer edge of the inner sole and upper respectively.

10. A shoe provided with an upper lining having a slit, said shoe having as a component part thereof a flexible strap located therein and extending transversely across.

and above the shank of the inner sole, the said strap passing through said slit in the upper lining, and means for permanently securing the inner end of said strap to said upper.

11. A shoe provided with an upper lining having a slit, said shoe having as a component part thereof a flexible strap located therein and extending `transversely across and above the shank of the inner sole, said strap passing through said slit in the upper lining, means for permanently securing the inner end of said strap to said upper, and means for securing the outer end of the strap at the juncture of theouter side edge of the upper and the inner sole.

12. A shoe upper ready for manufacture into a shoe, comprising a top, a vamp and a lining therefor; an arch-supporting strap ofsuficient length to extend under the bot to'm of the last to the outer side edge at the shank thereof; and stitches permanently connecting the inner end of said strap to said upper on a line adjacent the juncture of the top and the vamp.

13. A shoe upper ready for manufacture into a shoe, comprising a top, a vamp and a lining therefor, said vamp lining being slit at the inner sideadjacent the junctionV of the top and the vamp, and an arch-supporting strap inserted through said slit and having its inserted end permanently secured to said upper.

In testimony whereof Ihave affixed my signature. 

